10 rarest and most expensive video games ever sold

These are the most expensive rare video games that have ever been sold at auction

Super Mario 64 / Nintendo

It doesn’t matter what medium you choose, there will always be collectors out there willing to pay top dollar for the rarest and most prestigious items in the hobby. Whether it’s a rare and expensive Pokémon card or a ridiculously expensive collector’s edition, some people will dig as deep as their wallets go to get their hands on some items.

Video games are no different, and mint-condition versions of old games are often sold at auctions for ridiculous prices. These are the rarest and most expensive video games of all time.

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out – $312,000

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out / Nintendo

Our lowest entry on the list and it’s already at six figures, video game collecting is serious business.

The NES is home to most of the games on this list, and Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out is definitely one of the most famous games from that era. The gaming community has done just about everything there is to do with it, including beating the entire game while blindfolded and coming as close as possible to beating the game as quickly as any human will ever be able to. The result is that a copy of this game recently sold at auction for $312k.

Super Mario Bros 2 – $324,000

Super Mario Bros 2 / Nintendo

There is an important distinction to be made here, as this is not the version of Super Mario Bros 2 that most Americans will be familiar with. Japan got a different version of SMB 2 for the NES which was later released in America as Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, as developers at the time thought it would be too difficult for Americans, which is objectively funny.

Still, it makes original copies of this game even rarer than most, with a mint-condition 1988 version of this game selling for $324k.

Super Mario World – $360,000

Super Mario World / Nintendo

It should be no surprise that the classic Mario games largely dominate this list. These classic titles have had the most time on the shelf, and thus enough time for most people’s original copies to get beaten up, making mint-condition ones all the rarer. Super Mario World is considered one of the best 2D Mario titles, so naturally it’s highly sought after, to the point where someone was willing to pay $360k for an original copy.

Nintendo PlayStation – $360,000

Nintendo PlayStation / Nintendo

You read that right. What was long thought a gaming myth by some was proven true in 2020. The story goes that when Sony was first looking to enter the video game console market, they were going to do so in collaboration with Nintendo, creating the very first Nintendo PlayStation. Sony even got as far as publicly announcing the deal, but Nintendo went behind Sony’s back and signed a different deal for their console manufacturing the very next day, forcing Sony to go it alone and forever changing the history of console gaming.

Things got so far along that some prototype consoles were manufactured, with publicity photos taken. The existence of these prototypes was in doubt for a long time until someone came forward with one in 2020. The seller obtained the console by accident when buying up a bunch of boxes of old tech when his former employer went under back in the 90s. Three decades later that little prototype – which still works, playing both SNES cartridges and audio CDs – sold at auction for $360k.

Sonic the Hedgehog – $420,000

Sonic The Hedgehog / Sega

Taking a break from Nintendo for a minute, let’s instead talk about the only Sega property from this era that could ever draw these sorts of numbers. Sonic’s history is far rougher than Marios, but the original trilogy of 2D platformers are still beloved by most gamers. That earns the original Sonic the Hedgehog the spot as the rarest and most expensive Sega game of all time, selling for $420k.

John Madden Football – $480,000

John Madden Football / Electronic Arts

The Madden Football series is the kind of property that will simply never die. Sports games can get away with a lot of things most other series can’t, because there will always be millions of football fans out there looking for their video game fix. That makes the very first game in the series extremely valuable, with the most recent mint-condition copy to appear selling for just shy of half a million dollars.

The Legend of Zelda – $870,000

The Legend of Zelda / Nintendo

I hope you enjoyed that detour because it’s all Nintendo from here on out, and it should be no surprise that the Zelda series appears on this list. Depending on who you ask, this game can stake claim to being the first open world game, and it launched an all-time great series that, several decades later would once again redefine the genre with the likes of Breath of the Wild. All of that legacy leads to the original title selling for $870k.

Tetris – $1 million

Tetris / Sega

Finally cracking seven figures, Tetris held the record for being the best-selling video game of all time until Minecraft eventually came along and dethroned it. Naturally, some top-quality old copies have appeared in that time, but this edition that sold for $1 million is a little more than just a well-preserved cartridge.

This copy of the Sega Mega Drive version of Tetris is signed by Alexey Pajitnov, the original creator of this iconic game. Since this game sold in 2011, no other copies of the game in this condition with this signature have come to light, making it a truly one-of-a-kind item. For that reason, if it were ever to go on sale again it would surely eclipse the $1 million price tag.

Super Mario 64 – $1.5 million

Super Mario 64 / Nintendo

Super Mario 64 is arguably one of the most important games ever released. Regardless of what you think of it by modern standards, it was one of the first fully 3D games to truly show a general audience that the format could work, and the technology was ready for the industry to adopt worldwide. That trailblazing reputation has earned it a place in that upper echelon that lets it sell for $1.5 million when a mint-condition copy turns up.

Super Mario Bros – $2 million

Super Mario Bros / Nintendo

There was no question about what would top this list. When you ask people to name classic video games, chances are the first thing out of their mouths will either be Super Mario Bros or Tetris, even if they’ve never played a video game in their lives. That recognition goes a long way and means people go wild whenever a mint-condition copy of the original release appears at auction. One such unopened copy sold in 2021 for an eyewatering $2 million. It’s a cliche, but we mean it when we say it’s always worth checking your attics to see what turns up.